Ishra FF- Main aur Mrs.Khanna- COMPLETED - Page 10

Originally posted by: smilesforever98

Hey everyone! I know everyone is waiting for this next update since it is a huge part of the story & I also wanted to write it as soon as I could.

Unfortunately, I have broken my right hand and index finger during a basketball game and now I have a cast on for at least 3 weeks. Now that doesn't mean I won't write the next part for 3 weeks. I will continue typing it with my left hand, but I just wanted to inform you all that it will take some time to write up.

I am sorry to everyone who was looking forward to the next update, since you guys will have to wait a while. Hope everyone understands and sorry for the delay.

-Prabh

Hey everyone, I am finally updated this FF! Chapter 7 is all a series of flashbacks & I have divided it into 3 parts which will all be posted below. Hope you all like it & a side note, I haven't edited this part, so please ignore the spelling & grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

He stood in the same spot with her words ringing in his head.

"Maybe I haven't moved on as fast as you think."

How was that possible? She was living a happily married life with Ashok...or was she? He tried to think back at everything that had happened since last night. He knew she didn't love him when she got engaged, but assumed they had probably fallen in love after marriage. But then why was she not with him and why was she living with her parents when he had dropped her off at Ashok's house?

He tried to put himself into her place many times, and he could slightly understand her anger, but marrying Ashok so quickly was something he never expected her to do. He wondered if she ever put herself in his shoes and thought about what he felt that day. As he sat down on the bench, he thought back to the day which was intended to be memorable and it sure was, but for all the wrong reasons.

Flashback

6 years ago - Khanna Mansion

It was the day of Ishita and Raman's engagement, everyone was running around finishing up last minute touches. Raman was waiting for Ishita in the large hall that was filled with blue and white decorations. He had been waiting in the hall for over half an hour and had texted her over 20 times already. But she was still nowhere to be seen.

A short while later, she came walking down what seemed like a never ending flight of stairs to him. She looked stunning in her purple & white lehenga. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a curled strand of hair let loose. She wore the diamond earrings and his mother's bangles he had gifted her last night. Even though it was her engagement, she had chosen to wear minimal & simple makeup, but still look gorgeous.

Ishita was also in the same situation. As she came down the stairs, she saw Raman staring at her. He was looking extremely handsome wearing a dark purple sherwani that matched her outfit. She saw him smiling at her, his cute dimples forming on his clean shaven face. How did he manage to make her go weak in her knees every time he saw her?

As she finally reached the bottom of the stairs and came up to him, he saw her fidgeting with her hands and wanted to tease her.

"Nervous?"

"Of course, I am getting engaged to Ravan Kumar! Why wouldn't I be?"

"In that case I should be nervous, after all I am the one who's going to tolerate Jhansi Ki Rani forever."

"Raman..."

"By the way, did I mention how you looked today?"

"No..."

"You know, I can't describe the way you look dressed like that."

"Like what?"

"Like an eggplant."

"Raman! You are matching with me, you also look like an eggplant."

"I am a skinny eggplant while you are a fat one."

He laughed at her annoyed face as she pouted in anger, but she also joined him and they shared a good laugh. Soon they were joined by Shagun and more of their friends. The group stood there chatting away and teasing the couple until Ashok walked in. He walked over to the circle of friends and said hello to everyone.

After meeting up with everyone, he asked Ishita to come aside as he needed to talk to her. The two excused themselves away from the crowd. Raman's eyes followed them as they stopped near Amma & Appa and then the 4 of them walked into a room. He wondered what was going on, but brushed it off as Shagun came to him and asked him if he was ready to give Ishita the surprise they had planned for. He told her he hadn't been so nervous in his whole life. She laughed at him and teased him for being so shy with his feelings sometimes. The two continued to joke around, but Raman's thoughts were constantly on Ishita.

The next thing he knew was he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face Ishita who was visibly enraged. He had seen her upset before, but the rage in her now was something else and it scared him.

"Ishita, what-"

Before he could continue on, her hand clouted against his cheek leaving behind a stinging pain on his face. The retreating sound of the slap made the room fill with silence turning everyone's attention to the couple.

"You disgusting man!"

"Ishita!" he cried out with a horrified expression on his face.

Before he could say something further, Amma came running to them & intervened...

"Ishu, there are people watching. Let's go in the room and talk. Raman come inside, and Shagun you come as well."

Raman couldn't believe what has just transpired. Ishita had slapped him! What happened to her in a matter of a few minutes? The usually calm & sweet girl he knew just lived up to her nickname; Jhansi Ki Rani. He tried to figure out what had happened inside that she had become so angry. He knew it was related to him hence he was given a slap, but what was that he had done? The thought of him doing something that upset her to this extent made me feel anxious.

Shagun who was standing behind Raman also seemed worried as to what happened to Ishita. Her anger and her slapping Raman concerned her since Ishita had never been so upset. She was calm and composed person, but seeing this side of her and knowing she also had something to do with her anger made Shagun feel uneasy.

Ishita didn't wait a second before turning and going to the room, while Raman & Shagun slowly walked behind her without speaking. As they walked, they both looked at each other and asked each other whether they knew what was going on with eye signals.

As they entered the silent room, he saw Appa standing there as well looking extremely worried & upset, and Ashok was there as well sitting on a chair looking unhappy.

"Ishita...what happened?"

Ishita didn't say a word, and it was Ashok who came forward and handed his phone to him & played a video on his phone.

Video

It was video of him and Shagun sitting at Shagun's house. The video showed him telling Shagun...

"Our relationship started off as being friends. Slowly our friendship became love and now I want everyone to know about our love. We have so many memories together and I want to continue creating memories with you for the rest of our lives. Right now, I wish I could give you everything you have ever dreamt about, but this ring is all I could afford. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

And it showed Shagun hugging him as he finished his proposal.

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Raman felt like someone had just pulled the carpet from underneath his feet. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. Someone had shot a video of half of their conversation. This video completely changed the meaning of the conversation that took place yesterday. Realizing what Ishita might have thought after seeing the video, he tried to tell her she was getting everything all wrong.

"Oh my God! Ishita this is not what it seems like. "

Ishita still stood faced away from him and he knew he had upset her a lot today.

"Ishita please believe me, this isn't what it looks like. I can explain everything."

"What is there left to explain? Everything is in front of my eyes Raman. Even Shagun has admitted to your relationship."

Shagun who had been silent until now finally spoke up.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would I say something like that? The only relationship I have is with Ashok."

Ashok smirked before he put up an act of being serious and turned to Shagun looking very upset.

"Really Shagun? How can you lie so much? You sent this to me yourself and told me you're done with me."

Shagun completely ignored him and turned back to Ishita.

"Ishita think rationally why would I love Raman? He's about to get married you!"

"Come on Shagun, we all know how fast you go through your boyfriends! Love is a big joke for you! And I am not marrying Raman anymore. He cheated on me!" She yelled out so loud that some people outside in the hall could hear her.

The room was filled with silence. Ashok celebrated the success of his plan in his head, while Shagun & Raman stood shocked at Ishita's words. Both were extremely hurt by her words.

Shagun didn't give a damn about the world's opinion about her, but today her best friend was saying such things to her. But today in a moment, she became so lonely. Her boyfriend, the man she truly loved, was playing such dirty games with her and her best friend fell into his trap. Maybe it was true that anger brings out true feelings. Maybe this was what Ishita had always thought of her.

Raman just couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could she not believe him? Did she think he would go so low? It all seemed like a horrendous nightmare that he wanted to wake up from. Her words broke his heart and her accusing eyes filled with anger and disappointment just crushed his heart into smaller pieces. He wanted to explain everything to her, but no words were coming from his mouth. Finally he spoke up, but the only words that came from his mouth were of disbelief...

"Ishita, you're...you're believing this? You think I...I would do this?"

"Yes I am! Do I have another choice? Raman the video is in front of me, and I can hear everything clearly. And I don't care about the story you two have made up to explain this disgusting behaviour."

"Ishita, you know he loves you more than anything in the world! Just listen to what he has to say. And trust me you are going to regret your words, because he did all this for you!"

"Shut up! My boyfriend saying I love you and proposing to you is surely making me so happy!"

"Ishita this was a surprise for you!"

"It sure was Raman. My boyfriend and best friend together, it's really surprising. Thank you for this." She replied with sarcasm in every word and a disgusted look on her face as she continued talking...

"Raman it's all over. Just go away from here. I don't want to see you." She said coldly and her face devoid of any emotion.

"Ishita please, you are getting this all wrong-"

"Just leave! Just go away for God's sake. I hate you Raman! I just hate you!" Finally breaking down into tears.

Her Amma and Appa came forward and tried to comfort their daughter disgusted by what someone who they considered their son had done to her. Ashok also stepped closer to her holding her shoulders to support her.

Shagun started at him in disbelief and went up to Ishita. As she stepped closer, Ishita stepped back...

"Please Shagun, I don't want to hear anything from you. Just go away! I don't want to see the two of you. You two are now free to do whatever you want."

By now Shagun was just as angry as Ishita was. She understood why Ishita didn't trust her especially with something related to relationships, but couldn't understand why she just wouldn't believe Raman. She knew for a fact Raman loved Ishita more than she had seen any man love someone and she failed to realize why Ishita couldn't see the same. She looked over at Raman who looked so lost, blanked out, and shocked at what was happening. She felt culpable since it was her boyfriend's disgusting games that had broken this man's heart. She felt tears brimming her eyes as she realized if it weren't for her, this mess wouldn't have been created. She hated people seeing her cry and started to walk away, but stopped & turned back. She saw Raman standing in the same spot as before. He had the same expression on his face as he looked at Ishita hoping for some response from her, but Ishita didn't even look back.

She walked over to him and was about to grab his arm to take him out of the room, but stopped as she realized that maybe whatever took place right now had just changed not only her relationship with Ashok & Ishita, but with him as well. Now every little thing they did would be see through a different perspective, would be seen as betrayal and disloyalty. So all she could do was say to him...

"Raman let's go from here."

He didn't move or look at her, he kept on looking at Ishita, but Shagun had enough of all the drama. She called out to him again except more firmly and sternly.

"Raman!"

He finally looked at her and as his eyes turned towards her, she couldn't face him anymore. The tears in his eyes made her feel worse about this mess created because of her. She felt responsible for the heartbreak her friends was going through. She wanted to go up to Ashok and beat the daylights out of him, but right now Raman was the most important. Ishita had her parents with her to handle her, but he had no one right now. She held back her own tears and quietly asked him to go outside.

He started taking slow steps looking back at her once more hoping she would look back, but she didn't. Each step felt like it wasn't just creating a physical distance, but an emotional distance between then. He felt like everything was going backwards, his life was going to become the mess she had managed to bring him out of. He didn't want their relationship to end, he wanted to spend his life with her and she couldn't tolerate him for a minute any longer.The mere thought of her hating him shattered him and he broke into tears as he had stepped out of the room feeling like his life's purpose had been taken away...

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That's it for this update! I know this part was more about Raman & Shagun's feeling and not much about Ishita, but the next part will be all about Ishita & her side of the story. The next 2 updates will be posted in 2-3 days.

Please like & leave your feedback below.

As she walked away from Raman she went behind a tree & she broke down into tears. She knew she should have trusted him and she knew he would understand why she didn't do so at that time. And she also knew he more upset over what she had done after breaking their relationship; starting a relationship with Ashok. She thought back to the day she was supposed to get engaged to the man of her dreams, but ended up with the man she wouldn't want to be with even her in her worst nightmare.

Flashback

She had been a nervous wreck all day today. After all today she was about to get engaged. Her Ravan Kumar will officially be hers. She had been waiting for this time since the beginning of their relationship and now when the day was here, she was so nervous. She had taken extra effort and dealt with a lot of teasing from her sister to look her best today. She sat in front her mirror putting on the earring he had gifted her yesterday. As put them on, she felt like it was him touching her instead of the earring, it felt as if he was with her and he wanted her. She blushed profusely at her own thoughts and imagined what Raman would have done if he were here right now, unaware of Mihika standing behind her watching her every action.

"Akka, you don't need blush today right? Look at you, your face already so red. Wonder what will happen when Jiju compliments you."

Mihika's comments made her blush more intense and she couldn't help, but turn her face away from the mirror. As she turned away, her phone beeped and she knew exactly who it was. She rushed to get her phone, but it got into Mihika's hand before her. Mihika read the message aloud...

"Wow Jhansi Ki Rani is taking so long to get ready? I think I am in for a pleasant surprise! I wonder if you are looking as hot as I am imagining right now."

"Aww Akka you two are so cute."

Ishita couldn't take her teasing anymore and told her to leave the room as she would almost ready and would come down herself.

As she went downstairs hoping he would give her a compliment like most people usually do, but she had gotten an indirect compliment again along with his stupid taunts. But that's the way she liked everything he did; a little different and kind of bizarre at times, but full of love.

She was having a great time and everything was going perfectly until Ashok had showed up. He had taken her to the side claiming he had to tell her something important and she probably knew he was here again to try and convince her about Raman & Shagun having an affair like he had been trying to do for many days. She went along with him not wanting to create a scene in front of everyone. She was extremely annoyed when he had also brought her parents along. So as soon as they entered the room, she blasted him.

"What do you want Ashok and if this is about the whole Raman-Shagun thing, then let me tell you I have no interest in hearing it. And why have you dragged my parents into this? Just stop alright!"

"Ishita I have been telling you since many days that Raman & Shagun are more than friends. That there is something between the two."

"And since so many days, I have been telling you they are friends and I trust them. You are just being way too suspicious about them. "

"Ishita I have proof! These two are cheating on us. And I can prove it to you."

"Ashok I don't have time for this nonsense, you are Raman's friend so I don't understand why you can't trust him. And now I've had enough! I have been tolerating your baseless accusations on him for days, but not today. Today is our engagement and I am not going to let you ruin it."

"Ishita I don't want you to ruin your life by getting engaged to him."

"Ashok please! Just stop it."

"Ishita just watch this video once. It's only I few minutes long and if after watching it, you want to still believe there is nothing between the two then I won't say another word ever again."

She looked at him once and with a disgusted face, she extended out her hand so this matter would be over for once and for all. She felt disgusted for even doing this, and she worried that if Raman ever found out he would think she didn't trust him. But she had to do this to shut Ashok's mouth and get rid of his misconception, so she played the clip on his phone. As the video played her expressions changed from confidence to surprise to confusion.

She didn't believe anything she just saw. I am probably just imagining things, yea that's right she thought to herself. It all in my imagination. She played the video again and when the same clip played, she knew it was all real. She played it for the third time hoping to some miracle happen & this video would be proven morphed or fake in some way. But even this time, it was the same thing and this video was a 100% genuine. It wasn't a hallucination, it was reality. He cheated on her...with Shagun!

Shocked? Hurt? Rejected? She couldn't understand what emotions she was feeling right now. She felt like her world had come collapsing down on her, it all felt so suffocating making it hard for her to breathe. She wanted to just lie down somewhere and cry for as long as she could. They had so many plans, dreams, and had made so many promises to each other, but all that had shattered because of a 2 minute video.

She had given him her heart and he...he just stepped all over it crushing it and went to Shagun.

Shagun; her best friend. She was like a sister for her. A friend who she would fight everyone for, a friend whose emotional & vulnerable side she knew unlike the rest of the world. They both knew each other more than anyone else did. She was the first to know about her feelings for Raman, the one who she would talk to after their fights, the first person to know about their engagement, the person who had set up their first date. Most importantly she knew exactly how much she loved him and out all people, she would have been last one to do this. But that wasn't the case; she had been in a relationship with Raman for who knows how long.

The two most important people in her life had just betrayed her.

"This isn't real. This isn't real!"

She screamed out as her knees gave away. She kept on screaming louder & louder hoping her screams would somehow change the truth. Her mother came forward and held her shoulder to support her heart-broken daughter. She helped her sit down on a chair as Ishita hugged her mother, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Amma he can't do that! He didn't do this! Amma, she is my friend, she can't do this!"

"Why did they do this to me?"

Her mother could do nothing to console her daughter as she was shocked herself. Raman & Shagun were always close to her; she had treated them like her own children & they did something like this was hard to digest, but it was true. Like Ishita, every time the clip was played, she hoped there was something that would prove it fake, but it was real.

Ishita stayed her mother's arms while her mother stroked her head trying to comfort her and to get her to stop crying. And she did. She cried for a few minutes feeling hurt and broken, but then her thoughts were diverted.

She thought about the past few weeks since their engagement had been announced & how Ashok had told her many times, he felt like there was something the two were hiding. At the time, she hadn't taken him seriously, but now she thought back to how often the two had started to meet up & how much time they would spend to each other. What she thought was their friendship now seemed so much more. And then her thoughts went to another level.

If she hadn't found out today, would he never tell her? Would he have left her waiting to get married to him? How long was he planning to keep her in the dark & play with her emotions? Why did he love Shagun more? Was it because she had never been open enough with her feelings? Did he find Shagun more attractive or was it because she could never give him children?

Then she thought whatever the reason was, he could have ended their relationship, he had no right to play with her feeling in such a way. He had no right to break her heart and to break the trust she & her parents had on him.

At that moment, she decided she wouldn't let those two hurt her anymore. She would put up a strong face and confront the two. She needed to get herself out of this mess & these fake relationships. And so she wiped off her tears, not wanting anyone to think of her as a weak person. She got up determined to make sure he would see her vulnerability, she never show him her emotions again. Never again. She got up and went over to the mirror to fix up her tear strained face.

"Ishu, we will talk to him & work things out. It's won't look good if your engagement is called off like this." She heard her mother speak up.

"Amma work what out? If it weren't for Ashok finding this clip, I would have never known. Raman & Shagun would have never told me until the last moment. I mean he is standing outside waiting for me to put a ring on him and on the other hand, he is proposing to my friend. How do you expect me to work something out with him? And Amma I rather stay single than marry a man who can't be trusted."

"Ishu your Amma is right. We should clarify before taking any other step. I am not telling you marry someone who has cheated you, but maybe we should first see if we are not misunderstanding the whole thing. And if whatever is in this video is true & meant to be the way we are assuming it is, then I don't think you need to go ahead with the relationship. " Her father said.

"Appa what else could be the meaning of his words. I mean he has never talked to me like this. In fact he didn't even proposed to me properly. He just came up to you to & asked to get married. And here he is happily saying romantic things to her and she is hugging him all excited. What else could that mean?"

Her father's silence proved that he had no answer to her question and she didn't bother to stay in that room longer & rushed out to put an end to everything.

As she stepped out the room, she saw him standing in the same spot, chatting and happily laughing away with Shagun just like the way he had been with her just a while back. She felt disgusted by the two and couldn't control her angry. She went up to him and slapped him in front of hundreds of people without thinking. She was ready to blast on him right there and then, but Amma stopped her and took them all inside. She didn't bother to look back and walked back inside ignoring him and all the murmuring happening in the huge hall.

As they walked in. she had her back to him the whole time as he watched the video and as him & Shagun continuous told her they had no such relationship and she shouldn't believe Ashok's words. She had her back to him the whole time and so no one saw her tears trickling down her cheeks as she could only hear the words said in that video. For years all she had wished for was to hear something like this from him, and she did hear it, but the words weren't for her. That's when she came out of her thoughts and came back to reality where everyone was still trying to prove their point and she had enough by now. Every time they would say something to her, she refused to believe them and she only faced them as yelled out...

"Come on Shagun, we all know how fast you go through your boyfriends! Love is a big joke for you! And I am not marrying Raman anymore. He cheated on me!"

That's when she saw their hurt faces, for a moment she regretted saying such harsh words as she heard Raman's hurt voice asking her whether she truly believed someone else over him. She wanted tell him she had always believed him until despite Ashok's accusation,but today he had left her with no choice and that's exactly what she told. And she couldn't express sickened she felt when they tried to cover up the stupid excuse of this being a surprise for her. What kind of surprise was this where you cheat on someone? Finally she could tolerate it any longer and just told them to leave and turn her back away to cry once again. She heard Shagun calling Raman and telling him to leave the place, but she heard nothing from him. Had he already left or was he still standing there waiting for her. She turned her head slightly and saw him looking at her with tear rolling down his face, but she didn't turn around not wanting to show him any of her emotions right now.

She could hear his slow and quiet footsteps and she knew he didn't want to leave. Maybe he still had hope she would turn around, but she didn't. She couldn't take the risk of being hurt again, so didn't look back. Because she knew if she looked back there was no way she would just let him go, but it necessary to let him go since he didn't love her and maybe it was just not meant to be. As she heard the door shut, she fell onto her knees sobbing feeling like her life's purpose had just been taken away.

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That was it everyone! That was Ishita's side of the story and the next and last part of the flashback will show how Ishita & Ashok's relationship was formed. Hope you all liked it and please leave your feedback in the comments.

Flshback

Ishita

She sat there crying as Ashok tried to console her, but as much as she tried, her tears wouldn't stop. A small part of her still didn't want to believe that something like this had happened, but Ashok's continuous talks about Raman being a cheater while sitting next to her, made her ignore this feeling. She continued to think where everything went wrong and why did this have to happen to her. She continued crying until she heard her parents talk.

"What has happened? Now what will we do?" her mother cried out.

"Madhu what are talking about?"

"There are people outside who are waiting for this engagement to take place. And now we have to tell them it is broken! This is so embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing? How? Shouldn't you be happy I found out in time? Can't believe you think like this Amma." She asked her mother shocked at what she was saying.

"Ishu you are young. You won't understand all this. Your engagement has been broken! You realize what a big thing this is? I am just worried about what will happen now? It's is so hard to find nice boys and now it's going to harder with an engagement broken at the last moment."

"Amma I don't need a man like that, so it's better if I am single rather than being in a loveless marriage."

"Ishu it is easy to say such things, but it's very hard to live life like that. I don't know how we are going to find a suitable boy now? Who will marry you now?"

"Madhu what are saying? Such a big thing has just happened to her and you are talking about meaningless things right now?"

"It is not meaningless! Have you thought about her future? Who will marry her now?"

"I will!" Ashok stood up looking very serious about everything. He was glad her mother was worrying about stupid things like finding good matches for Ishita and know he was sure his plan was a sure shot hit.

"I will marry your daughter."

"Ashok how can we have you marry Ishu?"

"Why not aunty? We have both been betrayed by the people we thought loved us, so we can understand each other. We will have each other to get and give support. I think it will work out." He suggested while acting heartbroken and upset over the recent happenings.

Amma, Appa and Ashok continued to debate amongst themselves as Appa protested and supported Ishita while Amma and Ashok seems hell-bent on making sure Ishita and Ashok were together.

"STOP! Amma, Ashok, Appa, relationships aren't jokes. You don't break one and join another one. I am listening to anything anymore. I am going outside and asking everyone to leave since there is no engagement happening!"

"Ishita! You took a huge decision of your life by choosing the man you wanted to marry, but looked what happened! So now I will decide for you and you will have to listen to me."

Ishita stood shocked at her mother's words. She could even comprehend what was happening with her today. She stood lifelessly as her mother fixed up her face and wiped off the tears. She looked over at her father hoping he would stop all this as her mother took her outside the main hall.

Raman

He sat in one of the corners away from everyone else crying as he blamed himself for everything that was happening today. Shagun could do nothing, but try and comfort him by saying everything would be okay soon.

"We've been in a relationship for 5 years and I still couldn't win her trust. So it's all my fault. It's something wrong with me, I couldn't give her enough love that she would believe me. It's all my fault! All my fault." He cried with his head in his hands.

"No Raman, she is just taken back by everything, I am sure that's why she is acting like that."

"Are you sure? Shagun I am scared, I don't want lose her."

"You won't Raman, she is meant for you, but for now we have to go."

"No, let her come out. We will talk to her."

"She is not going to believe anything we say."

"Shagun wait! She has to believe me! She will! I will make her. I know she is angry, but I'll convince her. "

"Raman she is only going to hurt you & herself more right now. Stop this & let's go."

"I can't! How can I just go? What if she thinks I left because all that was true? I can't take any chances right now."

"Listen, she is upset right now because it was so sudden. So we will come tomorrow & she would have had a chance to think about everything calmly and we will talk to her then. Okay?"

He thought for a while before agreeing with her and they both got up to leave when they saw Ishita, Amma, Appa & Ashok all walk out.

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"Ishita you are going through this engagement or you can forget that I am your mother." Her mom whispered into her ears. Tears brimmed her eyes, but she stopped herself not wanting her parent's "reputation" to be ruined since they valued it more than their own daughter.

Amma walked over to the MC of the event and told him a few things before he walked onto the stage.

"Ladies & gentlemen, can I have your attention please? We are beginning the ring exchange ceremony between Ashok Khanna & Ishita Iyer!" everyone heard the MC saying.

The hall filled with applause, but there were many people confused at what was happening. After all they were here to see Raman & Ishita get engaged. Nonetheless all the guest all turned to the stage where Ishita & Ashok stood; except for a few who looked at Raman who was standing in the corner stunned at the recent turn of events.

He couldn't understand anything at all. What was she thinking; marrying Ashok? Has the woman lost it? She didn't believe him is understandable to a point, but what was she doing now? She was acting too impulsive and this was only going to get her into trouble later. He was brought out of his thoughts by Mihir and Romi who came running towards him.

"Bhai what is going on? What happened inside? You have been crying since then and now all this!"

"Mihir, take Romi home. And don't call me or anyone else unless there is an emergency. I will come home later."

"Bhai, no! You are not going to stay alone right now. Let's go home."

"I am your older brother, it's not the other way around, and so you listen to me. Go now!"

"Don't worry I am here with him, just take Romi home, he doesn't need to see all this." Shagun intervened. Mihir and Romi silently walked away taking one last look at their brother hoping everything would be fine.

Ishita on the other hand stood absolutely still on the stage with no expression on her face. She still didn't believe her mother would emotional blackmail her into something so stupid and pointless. She had no option but to go with whatever she was telling her to do. Then she saw Raman and Shagun walk towards the stage and she was filled with anger once again. Ashok grabbed her hand and slid on the ring her father had given him.

She saw from the comer of her eyes that Shagun held Raman tightly as he looked like he was going to fall any second now. She didn't understand why he was so upset on seeing her with Ashok. When he didn't love her, then why was he so affected? Was it because that feeling she had before was true and the whole thing was fake. No Ishita, he is probably acting right now, after all if he did love her he wouldn't have been with Shagun in that video.At that point she could think of one thing; they were happy in their own lives then she also had the right to be happy. So without waiting anything further, she took the ring from her mother's hand and slid it onto Ashok's finger.

That was it; she was no longer his and he was no longer hers. Everything seemed over at the time.

As she and Ashok walked off the stage and everyone got engrossed with the party and some went up to the newly engaged couple to congratulate them. Ashok was friendly with everyone including her, but she made no effort to talk to anyone, and didn't even bother to acknowledge Ashok. Until he also came up to her.

"Ishita what have you just done? You can't marry Ashok!"

"Really?! Why not? If you can go out with my best friend, then why can't I marry yours?"

"Listen Ishita you are being too hasty right now. Don't take such a decision so fast. First listen to the truth."

"Raman I already know the truth."

She turned around and started to walk away and he tried to tell her what had really transpired yesterday.

"Ishita, I did go to Shagun's place yesterday, but I went there because I-"

Before he could speak further, she cut him off having enough of his fake innocence.

"There you go! Now you have said it yourself. And I don't want to hear a word from you. And now please leave before I have my fiance call the security."

Fiance; she was supposed call him that after today, instead she used this word for the creepy perverted man. By now there was nothing he could anymore, she didn't want anything to do with him. Though he didn't want to, he left the place disappointed, but before leaving he told her the truth.

"Ishita that proposal was for you, and I don't know who made that clip, but it is not the full thing. Please believe me."

"I don't believe you." She said with her devoid of any emotions.

And she crushed his last bit of hope. He could say nothing, but...

"I hope one day you will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ishita

"Appa Amma, I agreed to this for the sake of the so called reputation that is more important to you than me and my feelings. So from now on, everything I say and do is only for this reputation, and only in front of people. You have forced me into a relationship that has no chance of working out, and don't expect me to forgive you for this. From now on, the only relationship I am is with Mihika and no one else." She told her parents as they entered their home later that evening.

She left without giving them a second look and walked into her bedroom. Everyone was all wrong, she thought to herself as she remembered everything that had happened today. If finding out about Raman & Shagun wasn't bad enough, her Amma & Appa had taken such a big step and gotten her engaged to man who she could never even think about making her husband. Everyone was just all wrong and a big mess. Everything that had happened tonight just kept on playing in her head over & over again, and each time it wouldn't fail to bring tears into eyes. Ad that night she cried herself to sleep.

Raman

"Nothing is right! Everything is going wrong. I hate my life!" he claimed as Shagun walked over to him.

She handed him a second bottle of alcohol as she went back to the kitchen to open another one for herself. Shagun had not been able to control herself from drinking & asked him to drink with her to forget everything for a while.

"It's all this creep's fault! I can't believe I loved this man!"

She yelled as she smashed a picture frame of them together. Raman got up and walked staggered over to where the broken pieces of the glass lay. He sat on the ground and started to pick up the pieces until one pricked his finger. Shagun ran over and stumbled falling next to him. She grabbed his finger and sucked on it, but he quickly pulled it back.

"I can handle myself, I don't need anyone's help." He said as he got up and fell back onto the ground.

"Raman please, you are drunk. Control yourself."

"Ishita you're here? How come?" he looked her curiously...

"Hello?! I'm not Ishita! I'm Shagun! Shagun the idiot who fell in love with that perverted man who ruined everything!"

"You sounded like her...wait...now you look like her. You look like her...no you are her. I don't know, I am so confused." He laughed hysterically as he moved closer and looked at her face closely.

"Then you will look like Ashok if I part your hair to the other side, like this." She said as she came closer and mess up his hair while laughing.

He continued to blabber nonsense to her and vice-versa. Both were not in their senses and their physical proximity was increasing with each passing moment. Shagun saw Raman as Ashok while Raman mistook Shagun for Ishita. They had spent the night together, in the bed together making love to each other as they mumbled Ishita & Ashok's names and cried...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ishita

After that night, she was a completely different person. She was no longer the bubbly and cheerful Ishita. She had cut down her conversation with her parents to almost nothing except during wedding preparations, stayed quiet whenever she went out with Ashok, and only talked properly with her own family when Mihika was around or during her wedding functions in front of people. She lost most contact with her friends in Delhi as her parents brought her to Chennai right after her engagement and sold the apartment they had lived in. As much as she wanted to talk to her parents, she always stopped thinking about how they had taken such a huge decision of her life without bothering to consider her feelings. They tried to make it up to her and waited for 2 whole years before they had gotten the two married, but she refused to talk to them and told them there was no point in giving her time to decide anything since they had made all the decisions themselves.

Eventually after getting married, she had to give in to her feelings and started talking to her family, but only after she had discovered Ashok's true nature. The first little while after their wedding, everything seemed great & Ishita started to move on from Raman although many things would remind her of him and she started to treat Ashok like her husband rather than just a friend.

A few months after they had been married, things started going downhill. Ashok started to ignore her and their arguments began. He always wanted her to accompany him to formal parties & dinner where he would love to boast about her to everyone, and put her into uncomfortable situations and take her to places where she just couldn't fit in. She had become a trophy he would flaunt around to everyone. She wouldn't just take that and would give it back to him and often mornings after their arguments ended with her staying in a hotel room or him walking into the house with a hangover and random girls. It was one such night after a long party and loads of drinking that Ashok had blurted the truth in a fit of rage after Ishita told him if Raman hadn't cheated on her, she would have never even look at a man like him.

The video was set up by him. He told her that Raman felt like he has never done anything special for her, and never fulfilled her dream of having someone go down his knees and propose to her. He knew you would never ask him to do anything of that sort knowing it was out of his comfort zone, so he decided to surprise you. He had gone to Shagun's house to get help from her since she knew what you would like & he was extremely nervous about sharing his feelings in front of everyone and disappointing you by not making everything perfect. He had gone there to show Shagun what he had written for you and to see if it was good enough. The hug she gave him was just a friendly hug given for getting over his anxiety and writing something so sweet for her.

Ashok also told her how Shagun had informed him that she would be busy helping Raman, so he had already set up his phone there to record everything. The video he had shown her was a small clip of the original full video where it was clearly visible they were just working on a speech together. He said he had done all this since he was sick and tired of Shagun & her expenses & demands. He wanted someone else and that someone else was her.

After discovering the truth behind the video & finding out how Ashok had changed everything and hurt so many people just so he could get her, and in a fit of rage, she made his plan successful. A wave of guilt hit her. She had hurt the two people who were doing so much to make her happy. They were doing everything to give her everything she wanted, to fulfill her dreams and she had done this to them in return. She thought they got what they deserved, but they didn't deserves any of this.

Not wanting to waste another moment, she had taken the first flight available to India to clear everything with Raman & Shagun and apologize. But it was too late; 3 years too late. No one knew about Raman & Shagun's whereabouts or contact information. Raman had stopped talking to everyone and engrossed himself in work to avoid meeting anyone and no one knew anything about Shagun. The two had stopped interacting with their friend circle entirely after the incident and no one had heard much from them since.

She returned to the US disappointed and ever since then, she and Ashok had become two strangers living in a house. They stayed in separate rooms, she would stay up crying herself to sleep and fall asleep with the thoughts what life would have been if it weren't for her impulsiveness and he would sometimes come home with women and other days he would be drunk & carried in by the driver and some days he wouldn't even be home. But it didn't matter what the other person did anymore, it actually never did to begin with. There was no talking, no arguments, nothing but silence was left. And she knew she was the one who had caused all of this. If only she would back in time, if only she didn't fall for his trap, if only she trusted Raman & Shagun...if only.

Raman

He woke up the next morning with a severe headache and some weight on himself. He opened his eyes to find Shagun on top of him. He screamed waking her up and they both turned away looking at each other's state. As the two realized what they had done last night, they both regretted every single thing. Raman forgot about what occurred last night and thought he had cheated on Ishita.

"Shagun...I...I have cheated! Ishita...she...I need to tell her...no...she will leave me! Shagun...this wasan accident! Just an accident...but Ishita...what if she thinks-"

"RAMAN! Get a hold of yourself! You didn't cheat on her! She broke up with you and is with Ashok now!! REMEMBER for God's sake." Shagun screamed at him trying make him remember what happened last night.

"She...she...you're right...she is with him now." He said as he calmed down and sat on the couch away from Shagun though.

"Raman technically we haven't done anything wrong. We were drunk and it was all a mistake. Alright?"

"You're right. And you won't ever mention this and neither will I. Right?"

They sat there awkwardly until Shagun spoke up trying to make thing normal...

"Um should I get you some lemon water, for your headache?"

"No thanks, I should get home now. Actually Mihir & Romi have been home alone since last night, and I should get back to them."

"Yea, you have a point. Um so..." she looked around here and there trying to get the conversation going or waiting for him to leave.

"So...bye I guess." He said finally getting up to leave.

"Bye."

He left from there feeling so stupid about everything that occurred last night right from the fake video to sleeping with Shagun! How stupid was he? It didn't matter if he was drunk or not, he slept with her. He felt so sorry about everything he did to Shagun while he was drunk. He just felt like everything that went wrong was his fault and thought everything he got in return was his punishment for doing all those things. He had become depressed and withdrew himself from everything after that night.

Despite Shagun, Mihir & Romi's numerous attempts to cheer him, he would ignore it all. He had become much more quiet and reserved than he already was. He would stay up late nights and work until fatigue overtook him and would end up sleeping on the couch or his desk. He would eat only when Romi would insist by refusing to eat until he ate. He would only pick up work calls and ignore everyone else. He was living but only for namesake. But it all changed when Shagun rushed into his office a month and a half after that night. She had made an appointment and he had finalized it without checking who was coming so early in the morning.

She had walked into his office and sat down in front of him, noticing his physical appearance properly for the first time after that night. He had visibly lost a lot of weight considering he had been eating one meal a day, he face showed his weakness and lack of sleep. And he looked so sick with his pale and dull face. His hair had grown long and it looked like he didn't care about it at all and it seemed like he hadn't shaved in days. She could do nothing, but feel sorry for him. As he saw her in front of him, he had asked her to leave thinking she was here to ask him for another outing with Mihir & Romi so they could try and make his mood better.

"Raman it's important, please just give me 10 minutes or I can come to your house later on!" the seriousness on her face made him slightly worried.

"No, no it's fine tell me."

"I...well...Raman...I" she hesitated to tell him what she had found out.

"What's wrong Shagun? You're scaring me." He immediately asked feeling guilty for asking her to leave earlier since the matter seemed very serious.

"I'm pregnant! Look at my reports." She said in one go and handed him an envelope as she was on the verge of crying and inside where her positive pregnancy results.

"It's mine?" he asked her and she nodded positively with tears in her eyes.

"What should we do?" she asked worried

"I...I don't know. But no matter what, it's my responsibility, so I will support you with whatever you decide. Have you thought about anything?"

"Raman...abortion?"

"Are you sure Shagun? Why should that poor child suffer because of our mistake? I know we made a mistake, but it has created a child, doesn't it deserve the same chance your child would receive if you had planned it?"

"I don't want to kill an innocent life either, but I can't raise this child. I am not financially ready for it. I live in a small apartment doing small petty jobs so where will I have the time & money to raise him or her?"

"But Shagun, it's my baby. It's part of me, I just don't want to let it go! Oh God what have we done?"

"It's a part of me too Raman, but think practical. Do you really want me to keep it?"

"I want to keep it. But in the end, you take the call. It's your body, your time, you are the one who will have to deal with everything that comes along with pregnancy. But I just want you to know, I will be with you in whatever you choose. Financially and emotionally, I will be with you."

"I need time to think things through."

"Call me & let me know what you want."

A few days later, she had called him to meet up in his office again and told him she had made her decision. He sat in his desk waiting for her to come wondering what she had decided to do with their child. Each minute seemed like an hour to him and after many days, he was actually waiting for someone to come and meet him. Finally Shagun showed up, half an hour late and that had him worried.

"Shagun you're late! What happened, why did you take so long? Is everything okay?"

She looked at him carefully and he was visibly worried for...her? Or his child? After many days, she had seen emotion in him, she had seen his eyes water and sparkle when she had told him about her pregnancy and now she saw his concern for this child. He really did want this child no matter what he told her.

"Raman you know I have very little time with my part-time job and with my photo shoots and interview timings all over the place, I won't have time for the child, so how would you give it a mother's love?"

He was silent.

"You also know that our relationship will have no future, then how can we give our child a secure future? Have you thought of that?"

He maintained his silence.

"Suppose you will handle the rest of the problem. Then if I choose to give birth to this child, will you raise it? Will you promise to come out this shell you have put yourself into and live for your baby? Will you move on?"

He was still quiet.

"See Raman, when you are always so lost in Ishita's thoughts and stuck in your past, how will you give you time & love to this baby, when all your love is for a woman who has already started living her life normally again? I know this child will only remind of that night, so instead of giving you pain over & over again, it's better to let this child go."

"I am getting an appointment to go the hospital, I would like to have someone there with me, so I will call you and you can come if you would like."

She got up to leave, but then he finally spoke up...

"Shagun I will raise her. I will live only for her. I... I will move on for her. From now on, I will live as her father, not anyone's ex. I promise you both that."

"Her?"

"Just a feeling and a small wish." He smiled faintly.

"But what about everything else?"

"Shagun I need my baby with me please. It's my last hope, maybe it will give me a reason to live again, maybe she will give me back my happiness, don't take it away from me. And then there are many single parents out there who raise their children perfectly fine, then why not me? I promise I will never let her feel your absence and anyways, you will find some time for her, right?"

"I will, but you are always so busy then where will you get the time?"

"Shagun, I have my own company, so I am my own boss. And it's not a huge company that I need to be working all the time. I can stay at home & work and I have Mihir to help me and Romi as well."

"Raman are you really sure about this?"

"I am. We are keeping this child."

"Yes we are."

She smiled at him as she held his hand tightly assuring him everything will be alright, although they were both somewhat unsure of the decision they had just taken.

Time went by and Shagun moved into Raman's new house after much persuading and debate. Although the two shared nothing but friendship, Raman took full care of her. From taking care of her basic needs to pampering her, and taking care of her whenever she got sick. He tolerated all her tantrums, mood swings and cravings only for his child.

Shagun was keeping this baby for Raman's happiness which she felt was taken away because of her. She felt happy that she could at least give him this child since she saw how excited he was on becoming a father. Although she didn't want this child since it meant losing out on many opportunities to build her career and it would change her life in many ways, she did it seeing the love and care he had for this unborn child.

Finally the day came when Ruhi was born, Raman had been pacing up and down outside the labor room for what seemed like a never ending wait, and finally he heard cries from the room. In a few minutes, the doctor came out congratulating him on the birth of his daughter. His happiness had no bounds that day. His dream of having a daughter was finally true. He silently thanked God and asked to meet his baby.

He slowly and quietly walked into the room where Shagun lay exhausted from the past few hours. Without disturbing her, he walked over to the same cradle where she lay. She was the smallest and precious thing he had ever seen. He extended his arms pick her up and brought them close to her, but took them back scared off hurting her. A lone tear of happiness escaped his eyes and landed on her face and as if his little girl knew what her father was feeling, she started to cry and his heart couldn't bear to see her cry. He picked her up like she was a delicate glass doll and carefully brought her closer to his chest. As if she had recognized his touch, she calmed down immediately and fell back asleep in his arms. He smiled and cried happily as he held his daughter close to him.

"Ruhi; your name will be Ruhi." He whispered to her and kissed her forehead as he placed her back into the cradle.

"That's a beautiful name." he heard a voice call from behind.

Shagun had witnessed the most beautiful moment she could have ever seen and was relieved to know that her daughter was going to bring back his happiness for sure. She knew that now he would be able to move ahead in life with their daughter.

He walked over to her asking her if she was okay and couldn't say anything to her except...

"Thank you...for everything."

And all she did was give him an assuring smile and only asked him to take care of their daughter.

Ruhi was brought home a few days later and had become the center of attention in no time. Mihir and Romi would rush to see her after coming home from college and school respectively and Raman didn't want to be away from her for even a minute. He would dread having to go to work even for a few hours and would ask for her the second he came back home. Things were going well and after 6 months, Shagun soon moved out trusting Raman to take full care of Ruhi, but would drop by occasionally to visit the between modelling assignments & her travelling.

Raman started life afresh with Ruhi. His day would start with Ruhi's cries and ended with seeing her sleep peacefully next to him. She had become the center of his world even before she was born. Everything in his life had been transformed. His alcohol bottles replaced with her milk bottles, his cupboard emptied for her clothes, his office had now been changed into her room, his files and binders replaced with her toys, the desk replaced with a crib, and the walls painted pink with flowers rather than the grey walls. Just like the walls, her arrival filled his grey life with colors. He seemed to have moved on from Ishita, but there were still some days when he would see couples and would be reminded of his time with Ishita, but then remembered his promise to Shagun, and would brush away his thoughts and focus only on Ruhi; the one who kept his soul alive.

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